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Braidwood Journal

Reed-Custer’s wrestling program continued to show improvements over last year, as they placed second during the Interstate Eight Conference Tournament on Saturday.
The Comets, who finished 10th a year ago, placed nine wrestlers in the 14 weight classes, which was up from four in 2017.
Coal City garnered the team standings with 195.5 points, followed by Reed-Custer (109), and Manteno claimed third (105.5).
The Comets had two seconds, three thirds, one fourth, one fifth and two sixths.

Reed-Custer’s varsity girls basketball team suffered a second loss in a row during the Interstate Eight Conference Tournament on Monday, as they fell to a tough Seneca team, 56-43.
The Lady Comets didn’t have much help offensively, as they shot just 31 percent from the floor and only hit 3-of-20 three-pointers.
Reed-Custer managed just three points in the first quarter, but were able to stay in the game thanks to a slow quarter from Seneca in the second. By half-time, the Lady Comets trailed by nine, 22-13.

Reed-Custer’s varsity boys basketball team bounced back from their first round loss in the Interstate Eight Conference Tournament, upending Peotone 74-73 on Saturday.
It was the second consecutive game where it came down to the wire. Russell Page drove the lane for a lay-up with eight seconds left to give Reed-Custer the lead. Time ran out for the Blue Devils in the waning seconds, as the Comets move on to play for ninth place on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Sandwich.

Reed-Custer’s varsity wrestling program is steadily improving, and it showed Saturday during their annual Comet Classic.
The Comets set a bench mark, earning third place through the 18-team field, even defeating Wilmington by two team points.
Reed-Custer finished with 130 points, as Clifton Central took the top spot (184.5), Prairie Central claimed second (161), and Wilmington rounded out the top four spots with 128.

A scoreless third quarter made the difference Thursday night when the Reed-Custer varsity girls basketball team suffered a conference loss to Sandwich, 38-27
The Lady Comets were within striking distance at half-time, down by only three points, but with plenty of game left.
The game quickly moved out of Reed-Custer’s grasp though, as the Lady Comets were held scoreless and Sandwich went on a 13-point run for a 34-18 lead after three.
Reed-Custer held Sandwich to just four points in the final period but still suffered an 11-point loss.

The Reed-Custer varsity boys basketball team’s conference woes continued on Friday, as they remain searching for their first win in the I-8.
The Comets wound up suffering an 89-77 loss to Sandwich, dropping to 0-6 in the league.
“We came out and played with great energy and played that way the entire game,” said R-C coach Mark Porter. “I am really proud of our kids. We had things going our way, then it seemed like a lid was on the basket the last 10 minutes of the game.”

The makeup of the Interstate Eight Conference continues to change with five new teams potentially joining Sandwich and Plano.
As reported by the Free Press in November, eight schools including Reed-Custer, Wilmington, Coal City, Streator, Peotone, Herscher, Lisle and Manteno, are leaving the I-8.
A year ago Seneca was the first of the 12-team I-8 conference to announce it was leaving.

Dreams sometimes do come true, and for Reed-Custer’s Gavin Johnston, those words have become even more of a reality for the former Comet.
Previous coach Mark Wolf announced in December that he was stepping down, opening the door for Gavin Johnston to move up after being an assistant.
“This is the dream job,” said Johnston. “I never dreamed of being an NFL coach or college coach, but I dreamed of being at Reed-Custer. I am really excited to be back here.”

It is one of the toughest wrestling tournaments on the schedule and serves as a measuring stick for the state individual finals.
If so, then Reed-Custer got measured up Saturday, as they traveled to the Princeton Invitational (PIT) to compete in the individual tournament that hosted 32 other teams.
“It works out pretty good for us, because this Christmas break is different,” said Comet coach Jeff Sukley. “We are usually in a rhythm before we go there, but we were able to get the match against Coal City and Plano, so that helped prepare us a little.”